Thena Nadarajah

“In Malaysia where I hail from, they are a lot more secretive about Freemasonry. It is much more out in the open here in Australia, which I think is great.”

“I first met Brother Jack Aquilina when we were both giving speeches at a district meeting. I was fascinated by his presentation and went up to him afterwards and suggested merging to promote his initiative, the Blue Lounge Social Club for members under the age of 50. Soon after that we launched in September and it has been thriving!”

Practicing law in Malaysia, as Thena Nadarajah did for almost 20 years, doesn’t leave you a lot of free time. So despite the repeated suggestions by his friends to join Freemasonry, Thena felt obliged to decline. However, when he moved to Australia in 2010, he was invited yet again at a local barbecue by the Worshipful Master of the Clifton Hill Lodge, and this time he thought “why not?” In 2013 he was initiated and he’s been relishing everything Masonry has to offer ever since.

He balances his time in the Craft with his career as an immigration agent, assisting people who wish to move to Australia as he did with work permits and other travel documents. He also enjoys a happy family life with his wife and two children, whom he describes as “delightfully different from each other”. “My daughter wants to follow in my footsteps and become a lawyer,” he explains, “but my son is much more interested in maths.”

Thena is also involved with the running of the Blue Lounge Social Club, which focuses on recruitment and engagement with the public for members under the age of 50. After giving a presentation on recruitment at the Maroondah District Meeting and listening to Jack Aquilina deliver a similar speech, the pair had a chat and realised they shared quite a few of the same goals and thus decided to join forces. Thena hopes to bring many more people, particularly young people, into the Masonic fold to enjoy its benefits as much as he does.